


Enter Sandman

by flibbertygigget



Series: Nightmares [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, Introspection, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 10:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5001592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flibbertygigget/pseuds/flibbertygigget
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So long as Leonardo could hear them, could hear his brother throwing away the night in favor of working through well-learned katas, he knew he wasn't back there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enter Sandman

It was only because Leonardo was meditating, attempting to calm his mind enough to sleep, that he heard the soft steps of his brother at all. At first he thought Raph had just gotten up to use the bathroom or get a drink, but then he heard the telltale sounds of hard training from the dojo. Leonardo sighed. Ever since their final fight with Shredder, Raph had seemed... worn down, yet restless, like a night sentry who had been startled by an animal. It seemed that Leonardo had accidentally found out why.

Leonardo rose from his lotus position in the center of the room and drifted over to the wall that separated his room from the dojo. As a leader and as a brother, he should probably have tried to stop Raph and convince him to go back to sleep. After all, a tired ninja was a liability on the field that they could ill afford. But Raph and Leonardo had a tentative peace since that battle, and Leonardo was loath to break it. Besides, Raph had actually seemed more on his game since everything had gone to shell. If that was the result of him doing extra training at night, why should Leonardo take issue with it?

Leonardo rested his shell against the wall, leaning back his head. The muffled thumps and grunts were comforting in their familiarity. So long as Leonardo could hear them, could hear his brother throwing away the night in favor of working through well-learned katas, he knew he wasn't back there.

By there, of course, he meant in his nightmares. That was why he meditated every night, calming himself through the ancient methods of the ninja, even though it rarely worked. That was why he hated the long silences that happened all too often in the lair these days. The night brought nightmares, and the silence of the day brought panic and flashbacks.

In the glass cage, Leonardo had been completely helpless. Even when he and his brothers had been left alone he had been helpless. He couldn't save them, he couldn't lead them out of there. He could only watch as Raph and April had taken on the risk of saving them, risk that should have been on him. Despite the blood loss, he, Don, and Mikey had been relatively safe. If Raph had died trying to save them... Leonardo shuddered. The thought made him almost wish that he and Raph's positions had been switched that day.

Did he envy Raphael? Of course not. His brother's experiences had brought on their fair share of nightmares, no doubt; the desperate training was evidence enough of that. But Leonardo did envy the fact that Raph had been able to do something that day. He wasn't stuck like this, unable to move, useless to save them.

Leonardo sighed and returned to his bed. Hopefully the faint sounds of training would be enough to stave off the nightmares for tonight. Tomorrow, perhaps, he would confront his brother, but not now. Now he was too comforted, and too guilty for that comfort, to say a word.


End file.
